Attachment for pens.



No. 674,924. Patented May 28, l90l. W. S. LEAIJBEATER.

WILLIAM S. LEADBEATER, OF SOLOMON, KANSAS.

ATTACHMENT FOR PENS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 674,924, dated May 28, 1901.

Application filed December 31, 1900. Serial No. 41,736. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. LEAD- BEATER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Solomon, Dickinson county, Kansas, have invented a new and useful Attachment for Pens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to attachments for pens; and one object is to produce a device of this character which insures correct position of the pen, and thereby enables one to write with greater ease and convenience than is possible where the hand must wholly support as well as guide the pen.

A further object is to produce a device of such characterof simple, cheap, and practical construction which will be found of great advantage in teaching pupils the art of writing with the hand in the most natural and approved position, and thus save the instructor a great deal of time and the pupil a corresponding degree of fatigue, which generally attends the early attempts at correct hand position in writing.

With these general objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which 1 Figure 1 represents a perspective view, partly broken away, of an attachment for pens embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of a part of the same. Fig. 3 is a full view of the attachment as arranged in front of the writer.

In the said drawings, 1 designates a stand, of approximately truncated conical form and of suitable material, possessing the requisite weight to reliably maintain the position in which it is placed. This base is provided with a central recess 2 in its under side and with a registering hole 3, which extends through and is arranged centrally of the flat upper side or top.

4 designates a swivel-post mounted upon the top of the base and arranged to turn thereon, being provided with a threaded hole 5 in its lower end registering with hole 3 to receive the threaded upper end of the bolt 6, extending up through and arranged to rotate in hole 3, said bolt having its headed end occupying the recess 2 an (1 bearing against the base of such recess. The swivel-post has one flat side, preferably as shown at 7, and extend ing into the post, at and in the lower end of said side, is a clamping-bolt 8, a set-screw 9 extending diametrically through the post near its upper end from the opposite side in order to apply more or less pressure upon the flexible arm 10, preferably consisting of a thin flat strip of steel, the lower end of said arm being pierced by and clamped to the flat side of the post by the clamping-bolt 8, so as to eliminate twisting thereof. The opposite end of the spring-arm 10, which latter is in the form of an arch extending from right to left, terminates in a clamp 11, preferably made by bending the lower end of the arm upwardly to form the loop 12 and utilizing a clamping-screw 13 to narrow or widen said loop to bring its jaws closer togetheror move them wider apart.

14 designates the penholder, adapted to be clamped tightly in the clamp 11 and be held with the pen-point in engagement with the surface to be written upon, substantially as shown. The angle at which the holder is supported, however, can be varied by applying more or less tension on the flexible arm by means of the set-screw 9, accordingly as the writer desires to use the pen, some writers holding the pen more upright than others. The clamp prevents the pen turning or twisting, and therefore relieves the operator of practically any duty except that of guiding it. He does not need to grip it tightly.

As the tendency of the flexible arm is to draw the pen to the right, the writer on starting each line tensions the arm somewhat by drawing the pen to the left, so that the arm may aid and not resist the movement of the hand across the paper while writing. The resiliency of this arm is such that it gives full scope for writing a line of ordinary length without danger of moving the stand or tipping it over. When the writing is finished, the writer may simply throw the pen forwardly from him, which causes the swivelpost to turn and move the pen and arm out of the way without at the same time varying the angle at which the penholder is supported by the arm, so that as soon as desired again it can be grasped and brought back to position without requiring any new adjustment in the clamp or of the set-screw.

The invention has been found to render finger movement practically unnecessary, and therefore eliminates all danger of muscular contraction of the fingers after writing steadily for a long time, and is designed for use by good writers as Well as for indifferent or poor writers, for the old as well as for the young, and also is of value for the very young, iii that it enables them to be taught correct hand position in writing with but little trouble and fatigue on their own part or on the part of the instructor.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced an attachment for pens which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the state ment of invention, and while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the same I reserve the right to make such changes as properly fall Within its spirit and scope.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An attachment for pens, comprising a stand, and a flexible resilient arm of arched form secured at one end to said stand and provided at its opposite end with a clamp for the purpose of supporting a penholder, substantially as described.

2. An attachment for pens, comprising a stand, a flexible resilient arm of arched form secured at one end to said stand and provided at its opposite end with a clamp for the purpose of supporting a penholder, and means to vary the tension on said arm so as to raise or lower the penholder, substantially as described.

3. An attachment for pens, comprising a stand, a post swiveled thereon, and a flexible resilient arm of arched form secured to the end with a clamp for the purpose of supporting a penholder, substantially as described.

4:. An attachment for pens, comprising a stand of approximately truncated conical form, a post upon the truncated end of said stand, a screw-bolt swiveled and secured to the stand and screwed into the lower end of the post, and a flexible resilient arm of arched -form secured to the post at one end and provided at its opposite end with a clamp for the purpose of supporting a penholder, substantially as described.

5. An attachment for pens, comprising a stand of approximately truncated conical form, having a central recess in its under side, and a hole registering with said recess and extending through the truncated top of the stand, a headed screw extending vertically up through said hole of the stand, a post having its lower end engaged by said screw and resting upon said truncated end of the stand, and a-flexible resilient arm of arched form secured to the post at one end and provided at its opposite end with a clamp for the purpose of supporting a penholder, substantially as described.

6. An attachment for pens, comprising a suitable stand, a vertical post swiveled thereon, and having a flat side, a screw-bolt extending into the post from the flat side, a fiexi b'le resilient arm of arched form having one end clamped tightly against the flat side of the post by said screw-bolt, and provided at its opposite end with a clamp for supporting the penholder, and a set screw extending through the post at the opposite side from and above the screw-bolt and bearing against the flexible arm to vary the tension of the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afflx my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM S. LEADBEATER.

Witnesses:

DAN CAMPBELL, J r.,

post at one end and provided at its opposite W. T. NEVINS. 

